(Applause Books). Oklahoma! opened nearly sixty years ago and instantly made musical theatre history. It was a daring ahead-of-its-time piece of dazzlingly inventive theatre that exploded every myth about what constitutes a successful musical. Revised and updated to include a special section on the Roayl National Theatre's production that Cameron Mackintosh is presenting on Broadway in spring of 2002, OK! The Story of "Oklahoma!" celebrates this watershed work that has taken its place in the pantheon of American musical theatre.
When Groucho Marx was well into his eighties, Charlotte Chandler approached him about writing a profile of him for a magazine. Groucho invited Charlotte to meet and that meeting grew into a friendship that lasted until Groucho's death in August 1977. Groucho was surrounded by a group of friends - some old timers like George Burns and Jack Benny - some younger comedians, like Woody Allen, who revered Groucho. Charlotte was present for most of these meetings and these conversations form the basis of HELLO, I MUST BE GOING. Some are hilarious, some are poignant, all of them are fascinating. If you ever wondered what it was like to spend some time with Groucho Marx, one of the wittiest men ever, this is your book.
Arthur Schwartz (1900-1984), a premier composer of American Popular Song during the mid-20th century, has been overlooked by historians. This first full-length biography covers his work on Broadway and in Hollywood, where he was known as the "master of the intimate revue" for his songs in the 1930s with Howard Dietz. Schwartz wrote music for films in the 1940s--with Academy Award nominations for They're Either Too Young or Too Old and A Gal in Calico--produced two popular movie musicals--Cover Girl and Night and Day--and was among the first songwriters to work in the new medium of television. The author describes his creative process and includes behind-the-scenes stories of each of his major musicals.
A new 30th Anniversary paperback edition of an award-winning classic. Winner of the National Book Award, 1976 World of Our Fathers traces the story of Eastern Europe's Jews to America over four decades. Beginning in the 1880s, it offers a rich portrayal of the East European Jewish experience in New York, and shows how the immigrant generation tried to maintain their Yiddish culture while becoming American. It is essential reading for those interested in understanding why these forebears to many of today's American Jews made the decision to leave their homelands, the challenges these new Jewish Americans faced, and how they experienced every aspect of immigrant life in the early part of the twentieth century. This invaluable contribution to Jewish literature and culture is now back in print in a new paperback edition, which includes a new foreword by noted author and literary critic Morris Dickstein.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK “Her technique was simple: aim for the top,” an envious colleague wrote of Clare Boothe Luce. No American woman of the twentieth century aimed so accurately, or rose so far, as this legendary playwright, politician, and social seductress. Born in New York’s Spanish Harlem, with nothing to recommend her but beauty, ferocious intelligence, and dry wit, she transformed herself into the youthful managing editor of Vanity Fair. She married two millionaires and wrote three Broadway hits, including the biting satire, The Women. Her second husband, Henry Luce—the publisher of Time, Fortune, and later at her suggestion Life—was only one of the dozens of men she entranced. Adding politics and power to journalism and drama, Clare used sex, street smarts, acid humor, and money to plot a career more improbable than anything in her own fiction. Not content with mere wealth and the acclaim of transatlantic café society, Clare Boothe Luce confessed to a “rage for fame.” This extraordinary book—the result of more than fifteen years of research by Sylvia Jukes Morris, her chosen biographer—tells how she achieved it. Praise for Rage for Fame “A model biography . . . the sort that only real writers can write.”—Gore Vidal, The New Yorker “[The] riveting first part of a two-volume biography . . . Relentlessly candid, meticulously documented, Morris’s book traces [Clare Boothe] Luce’s rocketing rise from illegitimacy and poverty to wealth, power and fame.”—Hartford Courant “Powerful and resonant, admiring at times, always critical, at times searing, but ultimately fair.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer “Crammed with enough drama for several mini-series.”—The New York Times “An important book about an important figure . . . a stunning feat of biography.”—Forbes “A dishy biography that is also a formidable work of research.”—Slate “One of those rare books where the reader dreads the final page.”—Newport News Daily Press
Curtain up! A Must See! proudly presents a visual feast of Broadway ballyhoo. For this compendium of graphic design excellence, theatre historian Steven Suskin combed through rare archives to bring us more than fifty years of plays and 175 compelling pieces of Broadway art. Dazzling shows and their glittering stars spill off the pages in artwork from top illustrators of the day, such as Al Hirshfeld, William Steig, Peter Arno, Alberto Vargas, and even Norman Rockwell. Covering every genre, A Must See! includes great hits (Oklahoma!, A Streetcar Named Desire), ignominious flops (Kelly, Carrie), and assorted delights in between. Throughout, Suskin peppers the text with insider information and juicy asides. Much of this material hasn't been seen since the shows closed eons ago, making A Must See! a bonanza of a browsebook -- shining with well-loved classics and surprising oddities from the beloved world of Broadway.
From the traveling troupes of the Wild West all the way to the bright lights of Broadway, Bert Williams broke through the color barriers and changed the face of the American stage
Show Tunes fully chronicles the shows, songs, and careers of the major composers of the American musical theatre, from Jerome Kern's earliest interpolations to the latest hits on Broadway. Legendary composers like Gershwin, Rodgers, Porter, Berlin, Bernstein, and Sondheim have been joined by more recent songwriters like Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Flaherty, Michael John LaChiusa, and Adam Guettel. This majestic reference book covers their work, their innovations, their successes, and their failures. Show Tunes is simply the most comprehensive volume of its kind ever produced, and this newly revised and updated edition discusses almost 1,000 shows and 9,000 show tunes. The book has been called "a concise skeleton key to the Broadway musical" (Variety) and "a ground-breaking reference work with a difference" (Show Music)-or, as the Washington Post observed, "It makes you sing and dance all over your memory." The eagerly anticipated Fourth Edition, updated through May, 2009, features the entire theatrical output of forty of Broadway's leading composers, in addition to a wide selection of work by other songwriters. The listings include essential production data and statistics, the most extensive information available on published and recorded songs, and lively commentary on the shows, songs, and diverse careers. Based on meticulous research, the book also uncovers dozens of lost musicals-including shows that either closed out of town or were never headed for Broadway-and catalogs hundreds of previously unknown songs, including a number of musical gems that have been misplaced, cut, or forgotten. Informative, insightful, and provocative, Show Tunes is an essential guide for anyone interested in the American musical.
'Broadway' has been the stuff of theatrical legends for generations. In this fascinating and affectionate account of a unique theatrical phenomenon, Andrew Harris takes an intriguing look at both the reality and the myth behind the heart and soul of American Drama Broadway Theatre explores: * the aims and achievements of such major figures as Tennessee Williams, Eugene O'Neill and David Mamet * the processes a play goes through from preliminary draft to opening night * the careful balancing between aesthetic ideals and commercial considerations * the place of producers, reviewers, agents and managers and their contribution to the process * the relationship between acting styles and writing syles for Broadway plays
A new look at artist Oscar Hammerstein II as a pivotal and underestimated force in the creation of modern American culture "Smart and insightful. . . . [Winer] has an intuitive grasp of Hammerstein's aesthetic and character. She gets him."--New York Review of Books You know his work--Show Boat, Oklahoma!, Carousel, The King and I. But you don't really know Oscar Hammerstein II, the man who, more than anyone else, invented the American musical. Among the most commercially successful artists of his time, he was a fighter for social justice who constantly prodded his audiences to be better than they were. Diving deep into Hammerstein's life, examining his papers and his lyrics, critic Laurie Winer shows how he orchestrated a collective reimagining of America, urging it forward with a subtly progressive vision of the relationship between country and city, rich and poor, America and the rest of the world. His rejection of bitterness, his openness to strangers, and his optimistic humor shaped not only the musical but the American dream itself. His vision can continue to be a touchstone to this day.
